MANILA – Magnolia Hotshots blasted Barangay Ginebra, 118-88, in front of 11,212 fans at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City in the pre-Valentine's Day edition of the "Manila Clasico" on Sunday night.
Magnolia banked on its trademark defense in the first half, holding Ginebra to just 37 points while opening a 22-point lead at the half.
The Gin Kings found their offensive rhythm in the third quarter, dropping 34 points, but the Hotshots held them to just 17 in the final frame en route to posting the biggest win by any team in the "Clasico" since a 112-78 Ginebra win in 2003.
Antonio Hester flirted with a triple-double as he led Magnolia, now 2-4 in the PBA Governors' Cup, with 28 points, going 13-for-19 from the field, 18 rebounds, nine assists, and two steals.
Mark Barroca added 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting, three rebounds, three assists and two steals off the bench.
Justin Brownlee fired 22 points with seven rebounds, while Christian Standhardinger added 17 points for Ginebra, which suffered its first loss for the conference after a 3-0 start.
In the first game, Greg Smith put up impressive stats in his debut as Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters finally scored a win in the season-ending conference through a 122-117 beating of Blackwater.
Smith, who replaced Michael Qualls as ROS import, finished with 38 points, six rebounds, five assists, and one steal even as the team broke loose in the fourth quarter, outscoring Blackwater Bossing, 35-22, to steal the come-from-behind win.
Santi Santillan added 16 points, seven rebounds, and one assist off the bench, while Nick Demusis scored a career-high 12 points as well as Shaun Ildefonso and Beau Belga for the Elasto Painters (1-4), who left the NorthPort Batang Pier as the only team left still without a win in the Governors' Cup.
Troy Williams exploded anew for 40 points with 13 rebounds but he too committed nine turnovers as the Bossing dropped to 1-5. (PNA)
